Arch Hypoplasia

In infants and children with arch hypoplasia, there is a narrowing in the arch of the aorta (the large artery that carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart to other parts of the body) that can lead to heart failure. The flow of oxygen-rich blood to the body is impaired, causing circulatory problems. Surgeons typically repair arch hypoplasia in the first one to two months of life, but patients of other ages may also have the procedure.

If your child has arch hypoplasia, the expert surgeons in NewYork-Presbyterian's Congenital Heart Center perform a high volume of arch hypoplasia repairs, making them highly sought-after experts for this procedure. Higher surgical volumes translate to better outcomes.

Nationally Ranked:U.S.News & World Report has ranked our pediatric hospitals among the top pediatric cardiology and heart surgery programs in the country, reflecting our reputation and excellent surgical outcomes, the expertise of our surgical teams, our high volume of cases, and other data related to patient care. We are also widely recognized for our expertise in newborn heart surgery; many of the procedures we perform are in low-birthweight newborns and in infants under the age of one month.

Surgery without Bypass: Our pediatric heart surgeons are sometimes able to perform arch hypoplasia surgery without cardiopulmonary bypass (use of a heart-lung machine) in some children, depending on the location of the narrowing. Children whose surgeries may not require cardiopulmonary bypass include those with hypoplasia after the level of the left carotid artery.

Protecting the Brain: Our team takes extra care to preserve constant blood flow to the brain during the surgery. We accomplish this using an approach called "selective cerebral perfusion," where we maintain blood flow to the brain through one of the branches of the carotid artery.

A Dedicated ICU: After your child's surgery, he or she will receive compassionate and personalized care in our dedicated intensive care unit from specialists with experience caring for even the youngest children who have had heart surgery.